»01/24/2009ASIA - UNITED STATESAbortion funding back with ObamaThe new president has revoked the ban imposed by Bush for eight years. Obama has also promoted financing of UN population control policies. Pro-life movements are sending critical messages to the president.

Washington (AsiaNews/Agencies) - U.S. president Barack Obama has reauthorized funding for organizations that perform or promote abortion abroad, removing the veto put in place by his predecessor, George W. Bush. The decision of the new president, just three days after the beginning of his inauguration, was announced shortly after the conclusion of a pro-life march at the capital, attended by hundreds of thousands of people. The evening before the march, Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali provided over a prayer service for the defense of life.

Speaking at the march, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx remembered the "millions of unborn children whose blood has been shed in the abortion mills of America."

Obama is a supporter of the idea that the unborn have no rights, and that abortion can be performed up until the ninth month of pregnancy. The new president has also said that he will restore American funding to the United Nations population fund. Bush had blocked the funding because some of the programs of the UN organism were linked to abortion, and to forced sterilization in China.

In the past, Obama had promised total liberalization of abortion in order to "safeguard the health and freedom of women." His cabinet includes staunch abortion supporters, including White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

The website Lifenews.com has launched a campaign among its visitors in order to send messages of criticism on this decision by President Obama, through the link http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact.

EGYPT - ISLAMWhat Tayeb and Sisi said is big step towards a revolution in Islamby Samir Khalil SamirThe grand imam of Al-Azhar slammed literalist interpretations of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, as fundamentalists and Islamic terrorists do. He supports the urgent need for Islam's reform, especially in terms of teaching lay people and clerics. He also calls for an end to mutual excommunication (takfir) between Sunnis and Shias. Egyptian President al-Sisi chose to fight the Islamic state group after it beheaded 21 Coptic Christians, whom he called "Egyptian citizens" with full rights.

SAUDI ARABIA - ISLAMFor head of Al-Azhar, religious education reform is needed to stop Islamic extremismFor Ahmed al-Tayeb, it is urgent to come up with new educational programmes to avoid "corrupt interpretations" of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Islamic terrorism undermines the unity of the Muslim world. He blames Mideast tensions on a "new global colonialism allied to world Zionism". a speech by the Saudi king is read at the conference.